An article came the Register’s way Tuesday morning titled “Why Poor People’s Bad Decision Make Perfect Sense,” by Linda Tirado, a freelance writer whose blog appears in the Huffington Post, an online publication. TO BREAK the circle of poverty, the effort must start with the young. TOO MUCH government, you say.
Tirado and her husband, a Marine who served in Afghanistan, have two children. Because he suffers from disabling post traumatic stress disorder, Tirado works two jobs to make ends meet.
Tirado’s story is not unique. It’s the same old working two jobs while raising small children and trying to get ahead by going to school while living with a depressed spouse can be taxing.
Yawn.
And she smokes.
Well, there’s the problem.
Studies show the habit of smoking cigarettes can cost $2,500 a year, not to mention cause health problems.
Truth is, the nicotine in those cigs is what gives her the extra energy — physical and mental — to make it through the day. “It is the only thing I have found that keeps me from collapsing or exploding,” Tirado writes.
Poverty should be treated as an insidious disease.
Malnutrition affects developing organs, a growing brain and bones in children. In adults, your teeth fall out, your skin ages prematurely and your hair and eyes grow dull.
Vitamin deficiencies can lead to significant diseases.
The effects of poverty can be lifelong even when its threat ceases. The feeling of inadequacy hangs on. Financial despair seems to lurk around every corner. When you’ve gone so long without, you don’t know what enough is.
In Kansas the number of children living in poverty has grown from 12 percent in 2000 to 19 percent in 2012, according to a recent publication by the Kansas Leadership Center. The number of people seeking food assistance has almost doubled in Kansas in the last five years.
One reason for the increase is the decline in state services. In Kansas, a family of four can receive no more than $500 a month in welfare for no longer than four years throughout their lifetimes. That’s $6,000 a year in assistance. For a family of four.
Previous administrations allowed the aid to go for five years.
The best reason to support government programs that help the poor is that they help develop a smarter and well-adjusted community.
Children who participate in early childhood learning programs grow up with better cognitive and social skills. This makes them able to make better decisions.
Talk to any elementary school teacher and she can pinpoint the children who live in poverty. Telltale signs include listlessness, an inability to understand concepts, social immaturity and delayed reading and math skills.
OK, then insist all workers are paid a living wage. In Kansas, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. That equals out to be less than $14,000 a year, because most low-wage employees are not allowed to work a full work week. For a single individual, about $10.20 an hour, $21,300 a year, is considered a stable income.
And it’s gonna snow tomorrow.
The problem of poverty affects us all. There’s no getting around it.
At least, there shouldn’t be.
— Susan Lynn
Poverty affects us all; we just don’t seem to realize it
